Turn table device

ABSTRACT

A pair of strapping machines with a turn table device therebetween by means of which objects, such as bundles of news papers, can be strapped in one direction rotated about a vertical axis over an angle of e.g. 90*, and then strapped in another direction. The turn table has the form vertically a vertical movable and rotatable cross having its wings below the plane of conveying means when retracted and above said plane when in operation. The device has switches and abutments to space the objects and to make sure that only one object at a time can be brought above the cross of the turn table device and that no feed or discharge can take place when this is not desired by the presence of objects downstream.

United States Patent V. D. Bilt Aug. 26, 1975 1 TURN TABLE DEVICE3,442,410 5/1969 SOiOmOnSOIl 198/241 x [76] Inventor: Pieter Arnoldus V.D. Bilt, Duinweg x2: 3: 24, Bosch Duin, Netherlands 3,783,773 1/1974Willard 100/7 [22] Filed: Dec. 21, 1973 Primary Examiner-Billy J.Wilhite [211 Appl' 427264 Attorney, Agent, or FirmYoung & ThompsonRelated US. Application Data [62] Division of SCI. No. 286,681, Sept. 6,1972, Pat. N0. ABSTRACT A pair of strapping machines with a turn tabledevice therebetween by means of which objects, such as bun- [52] US. Cl.100/4; 100/7; 100/14; dles of news papers, can be Strapped in onedirection 2 100/ 26 rotated about a vertical axis over an angle of e.g.90, [51] Ilit. Cl. B65B 13/06 and then pp in another direction. The turntable [58] Field of Search 100/4, 7, 14, 25, 26; has the form verticallya vertical movable and romp 198/235 241; 214/6 P able cross having itswings below the plane of conveying means when retracted and above saidplane when [56] References cum in operation. The device has switches andabutments UNITED STATES PATENTS to space the objects and to make surethat only one 2,632,381 3/1953 Buckland 100/26 UX object at a time canbe brought above the cross of the 2,870,922 H1959 Th0 0 214/6 P turntable device and that no feed or discharge can 3,045,802 7/1962 Miller198/235 take place when this is not desired the presence of 3,174,6313/1965 Swihartctal 100/26 ux Objects downstream 3,182,586 5/1965Armington ct al.. 100/14 X 3,330 205 7/1967 Smith lOO/l4 X 4 Claims, 7Drawing Figures TURN TABLE DEVICE This is a division, of applicationSer. No. 286,681, filed Sept. 6, 1972 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,320.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates totwo wire or band strapping machines in line to cross-tie bundles of newspapers or magazines with a turntable device therebetween. Thus thedevice can successively receive a single tied bundle of news papers ormagazines from the first strapping machine, turn the bundle 90 about avertical axis and feed the turned bundle onto the second strappingmachine which completes the cross-tie operation by applying a secondcrosswire band or wire around each turned bundle.

Accordingly, in the specification and claims to follow the presentinvention will be disclosed with respect to a turn table device forturning bundles of news papers or magazines positioned in line betweentwo band or wire strapping machines, but it should be understood thatthe device according to the invention is not limited thereto and can beemployed or adapted for other uses as well, such as for turning stacksof sheet material, bundles of envelopes or forms, packages, containersor the like, whereby the turn table device can be installed betweenmachines or conveyors of any suitable type or even form a part of asingle conveyor or machine.

Turn table devices of this type are known which operate in a similarmanner as the device according to the invention in that theysuccessively can receive objects to be turned from a supply source suchas a conveyor feeder belt or a processing machine, turn said objects oneby one 90 about their vertical axis or another vertical axis and feedthe turned objects onto another processing machine or a suitabledischarge conveyor. However, the embodiments of such known devicesdiffer substantially from the particular embodiment of the turn tabledevice according to the present invention. The essential difference isthe fact that the known devices comprise relatively complicatedconveying means such as push and pull mechanisms to convey the objectsto be processed onto and from a generally circular turn table, whichmeans are positioned externally of the work table containing the turntable, whereas in the present invention the embodiment is such that thetuming and conveying means are suitably and completely arranged insidethe work table of the turn table device.

Such known devices suffer from various disadvantages, a principaldisadvantage being the complexity of the device due to the particulararrangement of the conveying means, which in turn is a main cause ofother drawbacks, such as heavy weight, expensiveness, complicatedcontrol systems, diminished surveyability, decreased accessibility formaintenance and repair. Furthermore, the complexity of the known devicesand the particular arrangement of the conveying and turning meanssubstantially influence the reliability, effectiveness and capacity ofthe devices. it has been found that the transfer of objects or bundlesonto and from the turn table in the known devices is difficult toproperly execute due to bundle obstructing machine surfaces orinaccurate functioning of the conveying means. Consequently the chanceof jamming or clogging is relatively high. In addition, it sometimescauses a faulty turn angle of the objects or bundles which in turn canlead to improper further processing. Furthermore, it often damages theobjects or bundles being handled and sometimes produces relatively heavywear of machineparts involved. As the conveying and turning machineparts wear, the reliability of the device rapidly decreases as a resultof changing dimensions which affect the accuracy and smooth execution ofthe conveying and turning operation. Generally the positioning of thehandled objects or bundles on the turn table is difficult to carry outaccurately and is coupled with several time-consuming movements of partsof the conveying means, thereby substantially limiting the capacity ofthe known devices. Another important disadvantage of known turn tabledevices is that such devices normally cannot easily be adjusted topermit handling of different sizes of news papers or other objects. Inaddition, the thickness of the bundle or the height of other objects tobe handled often has to be limited due to the particular externalarrangement of the conveying means.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimproved strapping apparatus including turn table devices which have anovel and simple arrangement of the conveying and turning means in thework table whereby these problems are'eliminated.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide strappingapparatus including turn table devices in which wear of moving surfacesgenerally does not affect the reliability and effectiveness of thedevice.

Another object of the present invention is to provide strappingapparatus including turn table devices which can easily be adjusted inorder to accomodate different sizes of news papers or magazines or otherobjects.

A further object of the present invention is to provide turn tabledevices in which simple'stop means are provided apparatus including inthe work table in order .to effectively block the flow of bundles orother objects when necessary.

Briefly, these objects are achieved by providinga pair of strappingmachines with a turn table device therebetween comprising a frame, awork table at the top of said frame, conveying means defining the topplane of said work table and adapted to convey an object from one end ofthe work table towards the other end, said work table further comprisinga vertically movable cross stepwise rotatable about a vertical axis saidcross in its lower retracted position having its wings below the saidtop plane and in its upper operative position above said top plane,drive means being provided for the stepwise rotation of said cross, saiddrive means being controlled by a switch having an actuating leverextending above said top plane.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from a consideration of the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of this description,reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a machine line showing a turntable device accordingto the present invention installed in line betweentwo wire or band strapping machines;

FIG. 2 is a detailed schematic perspective view of a preferredembodiment of the turn table device according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed schematic perspective view of the entrance portionof the turn table device of FIG. 2 showing the conveying means drivearrangement;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side elevational view of some details of the turntable device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side elevational view of another detail of theturn table device of FIG. 2 and drawn to an enlarged scale;

FIG. 6 shows the pneumatic diagram; and

FIG. 7 shows the electrical circuit diagram of the turn table deviceaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENT In the drawings whichare shown schematically, certain parts which are not important or whichare generally known have been broken away or omitted for the purpose ofclarity and need not be further described as will be readily understoodby those skilled in the art.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail and, more particularlyfirst to FIG. 1, a turn table device 10 according to the invention isshown installed in line between two wire or band strapping machines 11and 12 of a known type, for example such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.3,589,275 or No. 3,667,378 both in name of Van de Bilt, which machineline is adapted to cross-tie bundles of newspapers or magazines 13.Bundles of newspapers or magazines 13 to be strapped enter the machineline by means of, for example, a conveyor 14 of any known type and arefed onto the work table of the first strapping machine 11 which machineis adapted to apply a wire or band 15 tightly around each bundle in adirection transversely with respect to the conveying direction, thelatter being indicated by arrows A. After being strapped, the singletied bundle 13 is then conveyed onto the work table of turn table device 10 which device is adapted to successively receive the bundle 13,turn the bundle by means of a crossshaped turn table l6, 90 about itsvertical axis and feed the turned bundle 13 onto the second strappingmachine 12. Machine 12 in turn provides a second wire or band 17 tightlyand crosswise around each turned bundle 13 also in the transversedirection in order to complete cross-tieing of the bundles 13. Afterthus being cr0sstied, the bundles 13 are then conveyed onto, forexample, a conveyor 18 of any known type located in line downstream ofmachine 12 in order to leave said machine line. Subsequently the bundles13 can be stacked, distributed or otherwise handled by any suitableknown means (not shown) as desired. In FIG. 1 the bundles 13 are shownin subsequent stages of processing. The bundle conveying means of theturn table device 10 are disposed in the work table of the device 10 aredisposed in the work table of the device 10 and will be described belowin detail. The operation of the turn table device 10, the strappingmachines 1 1 and 12, and the conveyors l4 and 18 is coordinated, as willbe described below so that no piling up or jamming can occur anywherebetween the feed conveyor 14 and the discharge conveyor 18 in order toensure the orderly and uninterrupted processing of the bundles 13without clogging said machine line. The strapping machines 1 1 and 12are dimensioned to permit processing of any size of newspaper ormagazine in bundles of any manageable thickness. In a preferredembodiment of the invention the turn table device 10 can be adjusted inaccordance with the size of newspaper or magazine to be handled.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred embodiment of the turn table device 10according to the present invention. The device 10 has a conventionalframework 19 constructed of structural members such as plates, beams andsections. The work table of device 10 contains turning means in the formof a cross-shaped turn table 16 as well as conveying means, respectivelyfor turning and conveying of the bundles 13. The bundle conveying meansconsist of two longitudinal parallel rows of each ten rollers 20, onerow being located at the left hand side of the work table and the otherrow at the right hand side when seen in the'conveying direction A. Therollers 20 are transversely positioned and rotatably mounted betweenlongitudinal beams 21 and 22, respectively 23 and 24 of frame 19, thebeams 22 and 23 being suitably spaced in the transverse direction inorder to accomodate various machine parts, among which turn table 16, aswill be described below. The rollers 20 are continuously rotated in adirection indicated by arrows B by means of a machine drive unitconsisting of an electric motor 25 combined with a reduction gear 26located below the work table of device 10, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Byengaging the bottom surface of the bundles 13, the upper surface ofrollers 20 can convey the bundles 13 over the work table of device 10 inthe conveying direction A. For that purpose all fixed machine parts aresuitably located below the horizontal plane tangent to the roller uppersur faces, as is best seen in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, in order to ensureunobstructed conveying.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 3, the electric drive motor 25 andreduction gear 26 are mounted in the entrance portion of the device 10,the entrance end of device 10 being indicated by 27 and the exit end by28, on a mounting plate 29, which is securedto transverse plates 30 and31 of frame 19. Electromotor 25 provides a continuous driving force forthe rollers 20 by means of a drive shaft 32, the direction of rotationbeing indicated by arrow C, to which a small drive pulley 33 and alarger drive pulley 34 are fixed, the large drive pulley 34 driving apulley 35, as shown in FIG. 3 by means of a belt 35 which extends aroundpulleys 34 and 35. Pulley 35 is mounted on a rod 36 rotatably supportedin a support structure 37 which is located below the conveying rollers20 in the entrance portion of machine 10. At its free ends, rod 36carries drive rollers 38 respectively 39, which are rigidly secured toit. Rollers 38 and 39 carry belts (not shown) adapted to drive therollers 20 by engaging the grooves 20' of said rollers 20 at theunderside, said belts running over intermediate and end discs (notshown). The rollers 20 in each row are interconnected by the frictiondrive of said belts so that all rollers in a row rotate continuously ina direction of rotation indicated by arrows B in order to convey bundles13 in the direction A when necessary. When bundles 13 have to wait, forreasons described below, while being carried by the driven rollers 20,the relatively smooth outer surfaces of the rollers 20 will permitslipping without damaging the bundles.

The conveying means being completely described, the particulararrangement and operation of the tuming means and stop means for thebundles 13 will now be disclosed with reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5.Besides rollers 20, the work table of machine 10 comprises, when seen inthe conveying direction A, between its entrance end 27 and its exit end28, firstly switch means 40, secondly turn table 16, thirdly stop meansin the form of abutment pins 41 and 42, and finally another switch means43. The turn table 16 is cross-shaped to permit some of the rollers tobe positioned close to the transverse portion of cross 16. Turn cross 16can be raised vertically, turned 90 clockwise about its vertical axisand returned to its initial sunk position in order to accomplish turningof each bundle 13, so that each bundle 13 after being strapped in onedirection in the first strapping machine 11 can subsequently be strappedin the other direction in the second strapping machine 12 (vide FIG. 1).Turn table 16 in its inactive sunk position in the work table, as shownin FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 in solid outline, rests upon a supporting member 44which is mounted between longitudinal beams 22 and 23 at a littledistance below the top surfaces of said frame beams. Beams 22 and 23 arelocally recessed to accomodate the wings of cross 16. Turn table 16 inthis lowest rest position is out of engagement with any bundle 13carried on the work table of device 10, the turn cross 16 beingcompletely positioned below the horizontal plane tangent to the uppersurface of the rollers 20 and having one wing positioned in thelongitudinal direction between beams 22 and 23 and the other wingpositioned in the transverse direction between some of the rollers 20.From this lowest position, turn table 16 can be raised vertically intoan upper position, as shown in FIG. 4 in which the upper position isindicated by dot and dash lines, above the horizontal plane tangent tothe roller upper surfaces as soon as a bundle 13 to be turned has beenconveyed by the rollers 20 into a position just above the turn table 16.Turn cross 16 will thereby lift this bundle 13 from the rollers 20 andwill then turn together with the supported bundle 13 clockwise 90 aboutits vertical axis and freely above the roller surfaces. Subsequentlyturn table 16 will be returned to its retracted lowest position so thatnow the initially longitudinally positioned wing of cross 16 will belocated in the transverse direction between the abovementioned pairs ofrollers 20. The turned bundle 13 will thereby be transferred onto therollers 20 which will further convey it onto the second strappingmachine 12 (vide FIG. 1) unless it is stopped by abutment piins 41 and42 when necessary. When a bundle 13 has arrived above cross 16 whilecross 16 is situated in its inactive lowest position, this bundle 13will just have released the first limit switch 40 by its trailing end,which release controls the operation of turn table 16, as will bedescribed below. Consequently turn table 16 will successively be raisedvertically, stopped, turned 90 and moved down again, together with thesupported bundle 13. When a preceeding bundle 13 depresses and soactuates the second limit switch 43, and turn table 16 at the same timehas just returned into its retracted position, the normally retractedabutment pins 41 and 42 will be operated and vertically raised fromtheir retracted position in the work table below the horizontal planetangent to the roller upper surfaces, a position shown in solid outlinein FIG. 2, in order to stop the bundle 13 which is just leaving turntable 16. The abutment pins 41 and 42 will remain raised until switch 43is deactivated upon passing of the preceeding bundle 13. In this way theflow of bundles 13 can be blocked when necessary in order to createspace between the bundles and prevent clogging or piling up of thebundles. In this case the first strapping machine 11 (FIG. 1) at thesame time is prevented of delivering a next bundle 13 onto the turntable device 10 by any known obstruction means, and will not deliver abundle 13 until the bundle 13 stopped against abutment pins 41 and 42 isconveyed beyond these pins upon release of switch 43 by the preceedingbundle 13 which release causes the pins 41 and 42 to be retracted intotheir inactive lower position.

The operation of the turn table 16 of the turn device 10 is effected bya lift and turn mechanism which will now be disclosed in detail withreference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The machine drive unit comprisingelectromotor 25 and reduction gear 26 drives, besides rollers 20,continuously a disc 45 which is rotatably mounted at the bottom end of afixed vertical tubular member 46. Tube 46 is attached to the turn tablesupporting member 44 at its upper end and is concentrically arrangedaround a vertical shaft 47 on top of which the turn table 16 is secured.The driven disc 45 is provided with a friction clutch 48 mounted at itslower side. Shaft 47 is rotatable and vertically slidable within tube46, and extends downward beyond disc 45. A circular clutch plate 49 ismounted at the bottom end of shaft 47 and is provided with a frictionsurface on its upper side for engagement with clutch 48. Plate 49 at itsbottom side comprises four fixed wings 50, 51, 52 and 53, radiallyprojecting from the plate and spaced at 90 with respect to each otheralong its circumference. A pneumatic retraction cylinder 54 is with itsblind end portion mounted to a bracket 55, the bracket 55 being securedto a vertical support plate 56 which is rigidly attached to beams 22 and23 at its upper end and to base plate 57 of frame 19 at its lower end.The piston rod 58 of cylinder 54 is hingedly connected at 59 to a swivelarm 60 which is pivotally mounted to a pivot rod 61 at 62. Pivot rod 61is supported by brackets 63 and 64 on base plate 31 of frame 19. Uponactuation of cylinder 54, the piston rod 58 will be retracted andthereby pivots arm 60 upward about pivot rod 61 and lifts the turn table16 by lifting the unit consisting of wing plate 49, shaft 47 and turntable 16, shaft 47 sliding within tube 46. The vertical movement of saidunit is guided by guide pins 65 and 66. Support 69, rigidly attached toa support block which is mounted on a support structure 71 connected toframe 19, carries a plate 67 secured to a hinge pin 68. This plate 67 byits excentric connection to the pin 68 extends downwardly in an inclinedposition, as shown in FIG. 5. Support 69 further carries a switch 76, 77which can be actuated by plate 67. The turn table unit will be lifteduntil friction plate 49 engages friction surface 48 of the driven disc45 which will cause plate 49 to be rotated in the same direction therebyalso turning turn table 16 clockwise about its vertical axis aboverollers 20. Disc 45 is driven by means of a belt 72 extending arounddrive pulley 33 on shaft 32 of the machine drive unit (25, 26), guidepulleys 73 and 74 rotatably mounted on pulley support block 70 and disc45, as shown in FIG. 2. The direction of rotation of drive pulley 33 isindicated by arrow C and that of disc 45 by arrow D. Upon rotation overnearly 90 degrees the turn table 16 being in its upper position as shownin dot and dash lines in FIG. 4, one of the wings (50, 51, 52, 53) ofplate 49, (i.e. wing 51 in FIG. 2) each time hits a plate 67 which platethen will act against a small roller 75 rotatably mounted on the switchoperating lever 76. Lever 76 is thereby pivoted which actuates limitswitch 77 mounted to the vertical support 69. As is best seen in FIG. 5,lever 76 has a limited stroke, the initial position of parts 67 and 75being shown in solid lines and the actuated position being shown in dotand dash lines, and thus provides a stop for the engaging wing of plate49 thereby limiting the rotation of turn table 16 to exactly 90. Thedepressed lever 76 trips switch 77 which controls the vertical movementof turn table 16. The actuated switch 77 causes cylinder 54 to beprovided with air in its blind end which causes the arm 60 to be pivoteddown again. This allows the unit comprising turn table 16, shaft 47 andwing plate 49 to move down by its own weight, shaft 47 sliding withintube 46, until turn table 16 reaches its retracted position onsupporting member 44. Lever 76 is thereby released into its initialposition, shown in solid lines in FIG. 5, by the descending wing (51 inFIGS. 2 and the movement of the descending wing (indicated by arrow E)being guided by the guide pins 65 and 66 on member 69 in order tomaintain the angular rotation of turn table 16 at exactly 90 so thatcross 16 is permitted to return into its initial retracted startingposition. When the turned bundle 13 has been conveyed beyond pins 41 and42, the turn table 16 is then ready to receive and turn a next bundle13. Wing 51 when lifted again, will then move upward until clutch 49engages clutch 48. Due to the fact that plate 67 returned to itsinclined free downwardly hanging position the raised wing (e.g. 51) doesnot engage said plate 67 and will upon operation of the friction clutch48, 49 pass below roller 75.

The stop means in the work table of device 10, in the form of simpleabutment pins 41 and 42, are normally maintained in their retractedposition, as described above, by means of a pneumatic cylinder 78.Cylinder 78 is with its blind end portion mounted to a support 79 whichis secured to transverse plate 80 of frame 19. Plate 80 is provided withtwo openings 81 and 82 through which pins 41 and 42 respectively extendupward. Piston rod 83 of cylinder 78 is at 84 connected to a yoke 85 onwhich abutment pins 41 and 42 are mounted. Cylinder 78 normally keepspins 41 and 42 in their retracted inactive position, as shown in solidlines in FIG. 2, against the bias of tension springs 86 and 87 disposedbetween yoke 85, and beam 22 and beam 23 respectively. Guide rod 88mounted at the bottom side of yoke 85 extends downward through opening89 in transverse plate 90 of frame 19 to vertically guided the movementof pins 41 and 42 and also functions to keep cylinder 78 in place bycarrying some of the load when the pins 41 and 42 have to stop a bundle13. Tension springs 86 and 87 will pull the pins 41 and 42 upward intotheir raised abutment position upon deactivation of cylinder 78 byexhausting its blind end and will maintain them in their blockingposition as long as cylinder 78 remains retracted.

Switch means 40 and 43 can be slidably adjusted in the longitudinaldirection along their supports 91 and 92 respectively, which supportsare fixed to frame 19, in order to be positioned as necessary to permitdevice to handle a particular size of newspaper or magazine. The limitswitched 40 and 43 have pivotable levers 93 and 94 respectively,normally projecting vertically from the work table beyond the horizontalplane tangent to the roller upper surfaces. When a bundle 13 passes aswitch lever, the lever will be depressed into a substantial horizontalposition and released upon passing of the trailing end of the bundle 13into its initial vertical position. This depressing and release providescontrol signals for the machine operation, as will be describedhereinafter.

It will be understood that the arrangement of the pneumatic andelectrical control systems of the present invention is decisive for acorrect functioning of device 10. Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7 of theDrawings, the pneumatic and electrical systems will be described indetail. As shown in FIG. 6, the pneumatic system mainly comprises apressure supply source (not shown) adapted to continuously supply airunder pressure into the system through an air entrance conduit 95 and alubrication device 96 to lubricate air entering the system, various airconduit means, the turn table cylinder 54 (vide also FIG. 2), theabutment cylinder 78, and solenoid operated air valves 98, 100 and 102,the solenoid of each generally being indicated at 97, 99 and 101respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, the single phase control circuit powerfor the electrical system is obtained from the upstream installedstrapping machine (machine 11 as shown in FIG. 1) by connections B andD. An electrical obstruction circuit is provided (connections A and C)to prevent the feeder belt drive motor of the upstream installedstrapping machine 11 from being restarted as long as feeding a newbundle 13 to the turning device 10 is not desirable. The electric drivemotor 25 (vide also FIG. 2) is connected to the power source(connections L1, L2 and L3) when starter relay 103 is energized by thecontrol circuit power of the downstream installed strapping machine(machine 12 as shown in FIG. 1) (connections b and d). The obstructionrelay 104 (connections 0 and d) is energized by the control circuitpower of the downstream installed strapping machine 12 but only as longas the feeder system of said machine 12 is in operation. The normallyopen contact of relay 104 is part of said electrical obstructioncircuit.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the Operation which will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art is as follows: As soon as abundle 13 leaves the first strapping machine 11 and moves onto the turntable device 10, switch 40 (vide also FIG. 2) is tripped and theenergized relay 105 closes the normally open contacts. When the bundle13 reaches the position of just above the turn table 16, switch 40 isreleased by the trailing end of that bundle, energizing solenoid 101 viaswitch 77 and the normally open but now closed contact of relay 105 andswitch 40, which causes solenoid operated air valve 102 to be actuated.The actuated valve 102 provides air to the rod end of the turn tablecylinder 54, which moves the turn table 16 upward, causing the clutch 49mounted on the bottom end of the turn table shaft 47 to engage clutch 48of driven disc 45. When turned 90, one of the four wings (50, 51, 52 and53) mounted on the lower friction plate 49, hits the switch operatingplate 67 (as is best seen in FIG. 5). This plate 67 operates lever 76which has a limited stroke so that it stops the turn table 16 and tripsswitch 77, causing de-energization of relay 105 and solenoid 101 ofvalve 102. Simultaneously, solenoid 99 of solenoid operated air valve100 is energized through the now closed contact of switch 77, permittingvalve 100 to provide air to the blind end of the turn table cylinder 54which allows the turn table 16 to move down. The switch lever 76 returnsto its initial position and the released switch 77 de-energizes solenoid99 of valve 100 which permits valve 100 to return to its initialposition.

The turned bundle 13 is moved freely over the abutment pins 41 and 42because said pins are kept down in retracted position by the abutmentcylinder 78 which is pressurized on the blind end via solenoid operatedair valve 98. Solenoid 97 of valve 98 is energized via the normallyclosed contacts of relay 106. If the last bundle 13 cannot enter thesecond strapping machine 12 for one reason or the other, this bundlewill be stopped just beyond the abutment pins 41 and 42, keeping switch43 depressed. The next bundle 13 turns 90 and during this period relay106 is energized through switch 43 and the normally open but now closedcontacts of relay 105. When the switch operating lever 76 is actuated byone of the wings (50, 51, 52, 53) of plate 49, as described above, andtrips switch 77, relay 105 will be deenergized and opens again thenormally open contacts. Relay 106, however, remains energized via switch43 and the now closed contact of relay 106. Valve 98, its solenoid 97 nolonger being energized because contact 105 as well as contact 106 arenow open, exhausts the blind end of the abutment cylinder 78. Theabutment pins 41 and 42, pulled upward by the tension springs 86 and 87,will stop the bundle 13. As soon as the trailing end of the obstructingbundle 13 releases switch 43, relay 106 will be de-energized and closedagain the normally closed contacts. Consequently, solenoid 97 of valve98 is re-energized and permits valve 98 to supply air to the blind endof the abutment cylinder 78, causing the abutment pins 41 and 42 to beretracted, thus releasing the stopped bundle 13. The conveyor drivemotor'of the upstream installed strapping machine 11 cannot be startedunless at least one of the three contacts 104, 106 and 43, and in anycase contact 103 of the obstruction circuit (connections A and C) areclosed.

From a consideration of the foregoing disclosure, therefore, it will beevident that all of the initially recited objects of the presentinvention have been achieved.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated inconnection with a preferred embodiment, it is to be understood thatmodifications and variations may be resorted to without departing fromthe scope of the invention, as those skilled in this art will readilyunderstand. For instance, it is quite possible to employ conveyor beltsor other conveying means in the work table of device instead of rollers20. Abutment pins 41 and 42 might then be centrally located betweenbeams 22 and 23.

All such modifications and variations are considered to be within thepurview and scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

1 claim:

ll. Apparatus for strapping objects in two directions, comprising a pairof strapping machines, and a tumtable device between said machines, saidturntable device comprisng a frame, a work table at the top of saidframe, conveying means defining the top plane of said work table andadapted to convey an object from adjacent one said machine towards theother said machine, said work table further comprising a verticallymovable cross stepwise rotatable about a vertical axis, said cross inits lower retracted position having its wings below the said top planeand in its upper operative position above said top plane, drive meansfor the stepwise rotation of said cross, said drive means beingcontrolled by a switch having an actuating lever extending above saidtop plane, said drive means comprising a friction disc rotatably mountedin the frame about a vertical axis and adapted to be continuouslydriven, a vertical shaft concentric with said disc, the upper end ofsaid shaft carrying the cross, while the lower end carries a secondfriction disc having radially extending wings, means for moving saidshaft upwardly to bring the second friction disc into engagement withthe first friction disc and for moving said shaft downwardly todisengage the said friction discs, and a further switch which in theraised position of the shaft can be actuated by a said wing and whenactuated controls the means for moving said shaft to move downwardly.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which in front of the switch adownwardly extending plate is pivotably suspended within the frame,which plate lies in the path of the wings when in their raised positionand can actuate said further switch and which in its free downwardlyhanging position is out of the vertical path of the adjacent wing whichin its lower position is prevented to rotate with the shaft by guidepins.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said switch being mounted upstreamof said cross and being in a control circuit such that the drive meansare put into operation for lifting and rotating the cross when the saidswitch is released by an object upon the work table.

4. Apparatus for strapping objects in two directions, comprising a pairof strapping machines, and a turntable device between said machines,said turntable device comprising a frame, a work table at the top ofsaid frame, conveying means defining the top plane of said work tableand adapted to convey an object from adjacent one said machine towardsthe other said machine, said work table further comprising a verticallymovable cross stepwise rotatable about a vertical axis, said cross inits lower retracted position having its wings below the said top planeand in its upper operative position above said top plane, drive meansfor the stepwise rotation of said cross, said drive means beingcontrolled a switch having an actuating lever extending above said topplane, said switch being mounted upstream of said cross and being in acontrol circuit such that the drive means are put into operation forlifting and rotating the cross when the said switch is released by anobject upon the work table, retractable abutment pins in the work tablelocated downstream of the cross, a still further switch having anactuating lever extending above said top plane and located downstream ofsaid abutment pins, said circuit being such that the abutment pins willextend above said top plane as soon as an object completes its rotationbut only if a preceding object is depressing the actuating lever of thesaid further switch and will retract below said plane when said stillfurther switch is released, and upstream mounted separate supplyconveyor means having drive means connected to said control circuit ofthe apparatus such that said drive means cannot be re-energized whensaid still further switch is depressed.

1. Apparatus for strapping objects in two directions, comprising a pairof strapping machines, and a turntable device between said machines,said turntable device comprisng a frame, a work table at the top of saidframe, conveying means defining the top plane of said work table andadapted to convey an object from adjacent one said machine towards theother said machine, said work table further comprising a verticallymovable cross stepwise rotatable about a vertical axis, said cross inits lower retracted position having its wings below the said top planeand in its upper operative position above said top plane, drive meansfor the stepwise rotation of said cross, said drive means beingcontrolled by a switch having an actuating lever extending above saidtop plane, said drive means comprising a friction disc rotatably mountedin the frame about a vertical axis and adapted to be continuouslydriven, a vertical shaft concentric with said disc, the upper end ofsaid shaft carrying the cross, while the lower end carries a secondfriction disc having radially extending wings, means for moving saidshaft upwardly to bring the second friction disc into engagement withthe first friction disc and for moving said shaft downwardly todisengage the said friction discs, and a further switch which in theraised position of the shaft can be actuated by a said wing and whenactuated controls the means for moving said shaft to move downwardly. 2.Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which in front of the switch adownwardly extending plate is pivotably suspended within the frame,which plate lies in the path of the wings when in their raised positionand can actuate said further switch and which in its free downwardlyhanging position is out of the vertical path of the adjacent wing whichin its lower position is prevented to rotate with the shaft by guidepins.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said switch being mountedupstream of said cross and being in a control circuit such that thedrive means are put into operation for lifting and rotating the crosswhen the said switch is released by an object upon the work table. 4.Apparatus for strapping objects in two directions, comprising a pair ofstrapping machines, and a turntable device between said machines, saidturntable device comprising a frame, a work table at the top of saidframe, conveying means defining the top plane of said work table andadapted to convey an object from adjacent one said machine towards theother said machine, said work table further comprising a verticallymovable cross stepwise rotatable about a vertical axis, said cross inits lower retracted position having its wings below the said top planeand in its upper operative position above said top plane, drive meansfor the stepwise rotation of said cross, said drive means beingcontrolled a switch having an actuating lever extending above said topplane, said switch being mounted upstream of said cross and being in acontrol circuit such that the drive means are put into operation forlifting and rotating the cross when the said switch is released by anobject upon the work table, retractable abutment pins in the work tablelocated downstream of the cross, a still further switch having anactuating lever extending above said top plane and located downstream ofsaid abutment pins, said circuit being such that the abutment pins willextend above said top plane as soon as an object completes its rotationbut only if a preceding object is depressing the actuating levEr of thesaid further switch and will retract below said plane when said stillfurther switch is released, and upstream mounted separate supplyconveyor means having drive means connected to said control circuit ofthe apparatus such that said drive means cannot be re-energized whensaid still further switch is depressed.